At the tail end of March, the spring sunlight was like a pot of newly brewed fine wine, intoxicating the earth. As the wind passed through the treetops, the cherry blossom trees in St. Freya Academy seemed to have been cast under a grand spell. Layers of pink and white flowers piled up on the branches, as gorgeous as the clouds on the horizon. Petals drifted down gently in the warm breeze, like a swirling rain of flowers tenderly enveloping the entire academy.
Shun stood beneath these flowering trees and reached out to catch a petal, only then realizing that time had quietly flowed by. "So spring break has already ended."
Shun looked at the signboard by the roadside that read "Graduation Season" and finally realized this matter. Perhaps because he was no longer a student, Shun had become less sensitive to time than before.
After all, it was no longer the time when he had to count on his fingers to get through the days. These days he had been busy exploring the Sea of Quanta, so he hadn't paid attention to other matters.
But now, because he had encountered Vita as an obstacle in the Sea of Quanta, even though Shun was a whale player carrying many Divine Keys, he still couldn't continue acting recklessly under this threat.
After all, it would be a small matter if he himself failed, but if he accidentally became a guide and harmed the main world, that would be another story entirely.
This year, Mei, Kiana, Fu Hua, Sirin, Seele, and Bronya would be entering St. Freya as first-year freshmen.
The current world could be said to be peaceful. In the original plot, from this point until the opening of the Moonlight Throne incident a few years later, this world should have been very calm.
Although events such as the Serenity Gem incident in Singapore and the awakening of Chiyou in Shenzhou had occurred in between, with the current combat power on his side, handling these matters shouldn't require much effort.
The warm spring sunlight filtered through the dappled shadows of the flowers and fell upon the academy's pathways. At that moment, a young girl gracefully stepped into Shun's field of vision.
She had a unique short hairstyle — the outer layer was jet black like ink, while the inner layer revealed a gentle cyan color. The tips of her hair curled upward playfully, resembling lively swallowtails.
A stubborn ahoge stood upright on her forehead, adding a touch of adorable playfulness to her appearance. Her eyes were like clear lake water. The cyan irises were as fresh as new willow leaves in spring, while her black pupils were deep and bright, as if they held the stars scattered across the sky, shimmering with curiosity and lively light.
Pinned to the front of the girl's pure white collar was a blooming flower. Its petals were pink, tender, and delicate, while its stamen was golden and brilliant. As the breeze brushed past, it trembled gently, as if recounting the parting and reluctance of graduation.
From the carefully worn flower and the youthful yet slightly melancholic aura emanating from her entire being, it was not difficult to tell that she was a third-year graduate of St. Freya Academy who was about to embark on a new journey.
At present, the campus was filled with a faint atmosphere of parting sorrow. Decorations were hung everywhere in preparation for the upcoming graduation ceremony, which would also draw a complete yet slightly sentimental conclusion to her and her classmates' academy days.
Shun looked at the girl's somewhat familiar face and fell into thought. How could he have suddenly forgotten about her?
"Good morning, Captain." The girl also noticed Shun at this moment and walked forward, giving a slight bow.
Although Shun could be considered a nominal captain of the Hyperion, he would sometimes be called upon in times of crisis to carry out missions. The other party was also one of the Valkyries assigned to the Hyperion during her academy period, so she naturally recognized Shun.
After all, a leader might not recognize you, but if you didn't recognize your leader, that would be a big problem. Even though Shun was a nominal captain, he was still the captain.
After all, who called me "Captain" — I don't know. But who didn't call me that — I know very clearly.jpg
She was this year's representative of outstanding Valkyries. She had already become an A-rank Valkyrie before graduating. She could be said to be a true genius and a potential stock who would inevitably become an S-rank Valkyrie in the future.
Of course, her other identity was even more extraordinary. She alone fought against the three Herrschers of Finality, Origin, and Truth without falling behind. Rounding it up, she was the Wendy who would become the Heavenly Emperor who saved the world alongside Kevin.
Shun raised his eyes. A trace of realization flashed through them as he smiled and said, "Oh, so it's Wendy. In the blink of an eye, you're about to graduate. By the way, have you given any serious thought to which branch you plan to work at after graduation?"
Wendy was slightly taken aback. A thoughtful look appeared in her lively eyes. She lightly pursed her lips and thought seriously for a while before shaking her head somewhat helplessly and saying softly, "Eh, to be honest, I really haven't thought much about this question. During my days at the academy, I was either busy with studies or throwing myself into missions every day. I haven't had the time to think about where I'll go after graduation at all."
A moment later, as if she suddenly remembered something, her eyes lit up slightly as she continued, "However, I'm from New Zealand. According to past practice, most graduates from St. Freya are assigned to branches near their hometowns. So, I'll most likely be assigned to the Oceania Branch…" There was a hint of longing for the future and a trace of reluctance to leave academy life in Wendy's voice. She stood there quietly, her thoughts seemingly already drifting toward the unknown distance after graduation.
Shun looked at Wendy with a burning gaze. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Then, what do you think of the Far East Branch and St. Freya?" Shun suddenly changed the topic. Wendy, the natural vessel of the Herrscher of Wind — Shun thought that even without the Gem of Desire, the future Fourth Herrscher would not be anyone other than her.
After all, in Honkai Impact 2 you're the Wind Herrscher, in Teyvat you're the Anemo Archon. If in Honkai Impact 3 you're not the Wind Herrscher, wouldn't that be a bit hard to accept?
Rather than letting Wendy go to the Oceania Branch according to the original plot, it would be better to let Wendy continue staying in the Far East Branch, preserving her Far East Branch household registration. It could also be considered giving her an exemption from death.
Moreover, in the original plot, Wendy had indeed relied on her own will to overcome the Herrscher consciousness. If it weren't for Cocolia, that god of internal conflict, the human side would definitely have gained one more human Herrscher.
The upper limit of the ability to control ideal fluid was extremely exaggerated. With the abilities of both the strongest spear and the strongest shield, when facing a group of Herrschers, except for the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Sentience, and the Herrscher of Binding, a Wind Herrscher who could control ideal fluid had actually already stood in an undefeatable position.
Although Wendy's performance in the plot was quite poor, just like how Mei was now working hard to learn electromagnetism and had already achieved initial results, Shun felt that Wendy wouldn't be too bad at learning fluid mechanics either.
After all, the abilities of the Wind Herrscher were far easier to develop than those of the Thunder Herrscher. Under the condition of obtaining the correct usage method, the lower limit was very high.
Wendy blinked. As if she had suddenly come back to her senses, she asked with slight surprise, "Eh, Captain, do you mean… you want to recruit me to continue staying in the Far East Branch?"
Shun's expression was calm. He looked straight at Wendy with a firm gaze and spoke frankly: "That's right. To be precise, I have high hopes for your potential and hope you can stay on the Hyperion."
A hesitant look appeared on Wendy's face. She lightly bit her lower lip and said softly, "This… Captain, could you give me some time to consider?" In reality, it wasn't that Wendy was unwilling to stay in this familiar academy. It was just that everything had come too suddenly. Shun's proposal had left her completely unprepared, and for a moment her heart was in turmoil, making it difficult to decide.
Seeing this, Shun understood Wendy's hesitation at this moment. He didn't mind Wendy's hesitation. After all, in his view, Wendy hadn't immediately agreed only because he hadn't yet offered conditions generous enough to move her heart.
Then, he stated his conditions: "Upon graduation, you'll be assigned top-tier Gods' Throne series weapons. You'll have the opportunity to independently form an A-rank Valkyrie squad. You'll have the chance to spar and exchange with S-rank Valkyries Cecilia and Theresa once a week. After you become an S-rank Valkyrie, I'll also ask Otto to custom-make a 4th Generation God-Slaying Armor exclusively for you."
"I… I agree!" This time, Wendy didn't hesitate at all and quickly agreed.